Major Overwatch Update Changes Four Heroes; Here Are The Full Patch Notes

Blizzard has announced a new update is available for testing on the Overwatch Public Test Region (PTR). The PTR is PC only, but the changes that end up working are also made available on Xbox One and PS4 when they go live in the main game.

The new update makes several major changes to Mercy, Reaper, Symmetra, and Roadhog. The cost of Mercy’s Ultimate is lowered by 15% and her healing per second is increased from 50 to 60, making her a more valuable healer. The spread pattern of Reaper’s shotguns has been made more consistent and the amount of health he gains from The Reaping ability has been raised, which increases his offensive potential in head-on fights. Symmetra’s primary fire beam charges 20% faster, raising her damage output significantly.

Roadhog has the largest changes in the new update. His Chain Hook starts cooling down as soon as it’s used and greatly reduces his victim’s speed. The spread pattern on Roadhog’s Scrap Gun has also been adjusted so both his primary and secondary fire deal more consistent damage. The knockback velocity of Whole Hog has also been increased so that Roadhog now sends enemies flying. All in all, Roadhog will be able to more consistently trap other players, deal massive damage, and clear them out so that he can do it again.

The full patch notes for the PTR update can be found on Blizzard’s website. We’ve outlined the major points below. Overwatch is available on Xbox One, PS4, and PC.

Overwatch PTR October 23 Update

General Updates

Audio

An option to use Windows Spatial Audio is now available. This feature can be found in the Windows Start Menu under Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Sound > Speaker Device > Spatial Sound

Hero Updates

General

Made jump height consistent across hero roster

Mercy

Valkyrie

Ultimate cost reduced 15%

Healing per second increased from 50 to 60

Reaper

Hellfire Shotguns

Spread randomization reduced by 50%

The Reaping

Life steal increased from 20% to 30% of damage dealt

Roadhog

Chain Hook

Decreased the delay before pulling a hooked target from 0.5 seconds to 0.3 seconds

Now greatly reduces the target’s momentum upon being hooked

Cooldown now begins immediately, instead of after the target has been pulled